Norm and Barbara Jo left on a very early plane while the rest of us were still sleeping. Olen and I took the shuttle to the airport with Daryl and Bonny a little later because we wanted to be there early to meet the friends who would be arriving. Barry and Tabatha were the last ones to leave, but still flew out of Zurich before our friends arrived.
While Olen and I waited for our friends to arrive, we toured the observation deck at the airport, which was a very impressive place. It was designed with children in mind...children who needed space to run and exercise after a long plane flight. There were spots to view the airplanes taking off, and a playground with an airplane-airport theme. All around there were signs for older children describing the different things they could see like the runway and control tower. There were descriptions of the steps pilots go through before take off.
Several of our friends are joining us for this part of the trip. The first arrivals were the Florida ladies, who flew direct from Tampa to Zurich. Lucy and Becky arrived slightly dazed from the overnight trip, but after we ate a little lunch they were at least slightly revived. Harrison and Kim arrived next, but unfortunately their luggage did not make the same schedule they did, so we all waited for their luggage to come in from Glasgow, Scotland, on the next plane. After lunch we all went to downtown Zurich for a quick walk-around to view some of the main sights there. At one point Kim and I bonded after a close call with a local tram. (They are electric, and move very quietly!)
The six of us caught a train to Basel. On the way to Basel we met a lovely young lady we visited with. She is a doctor in Zurich, but she was traveling to Basel for the weekend. Among other things, we discussed food, especially ice cream. As it turned out, she was a local expert on ice cream, and she described a place in Basel that served what she advised us was the best ice cream in town, and she also said it was the cheapest. When it comes to ice cream, the words "best" and "cheapest" are music to our ears. When we all got off the train in Basel, she insisted that we follow her to the ice cream spot. She even helped translate the flavors for us, and she shared an ice cream cone with us. Sometimes we meet the nicest people and have the best experiences when it is least expected!
We took a local bus to within walking distance of our hotel and all checked in. Susan and her daughter, Chasity, had already arrived. A little while later Maurice and Linda and Jack and Donna Jo showed up. Our group was complete! We all gathered in our room for a while to discuss our plans for tomorrow.
While discussing options, Chas mentioned that she loved to cook, and she wanted to cook for all of us one night at the chalet. That was, of course, met with great enthusiasm from the group. We will look forward to that.
Tonight we are all together in Basel, Switzerland. After we worship with the church tomorrow we will head for the Lauterbrunnen valley. We have the same chalet reserved that we used for our family outing last week. This has all the makings of a great week ahead.
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